Evaluating the key risk factors in PPP-procured mass housing projects in Nigeria: a Delphi study of industry experts

Purpose The purpose of the study is to elicit risk factors that are peculiar to public-private partnership (PPP)-procured mass housing in Nigeria from the expert perspectives in ensuring the success of the scheme thereby reducing housing deficit in the country. Design/methodology/approach The risk inherent in construction projects had been established through literature in general. The risk in PPP projects is emerging because of the recent acceptance of the procurement option by governments all over the globe. The Nigerian Government has also adopted the procurement option in bridging the housing deficit in the country. This study, therefore, conducts a Delphi survey on the probability of risk occurrence peculiar to PPP mass housing projects (MHPs) in Nigeria. Pragmatic research approach through the mixed method of both quantitative and qualitative methods was adopted for this study. The quantitative method adopts the administration of questionnaires through the Delphi survey, whereas the qualitative method used interviews with the respondents. A two-stage Delphi questionnaire was administered to construction practitioners that cut across academics, the public and the private sectors by adopting convenient sampling techniques and following the Delphi principles and procedures. A total of 63 risk factors were submitted to the expert to rank on a Likert scale of 7 and any risk factors that the mean item score (MIS) falls below the grading scale of the five-point benchmark is deemed not necessary a risk factor associated with PPP MHPs and thereby expunged from the second round of the Delphi Survey. The interview was subsequently applied to the respondents to substantiate the risk factors that are peculiar to PPP-procured mass housing in the study area. Findings The findings show that risk factors such as maintenance frequent than expected, life of facility shorter than anticipated and maintenance cost higher than expected fall below 5.0 benchmark with MIS of 4.64 and 4.55 indicating that the risk factors are not peculiar to PPP mass housing in Nigeria. Research limitations/implications The implication for practise of this research is that these risk factors provide the PPP stakeholders with the comprehensive checklists that can aid in developing PPP risk assessment guidelines in the sector though both partners should be aware of the dynamic nature of risk because new ones might be emerging. Originality/value The authors hereby declare that the research findings are a product of a thorough research conducted in the study area and have not to be submitted or published by another person or publisher and due acknowledgement was made where necessary.

At Home in the Quarry - A community engaging and landscape responsive approach to Medium Density Design within the Three Kings Quarry

<p>The recently exhausted Three Kings Quarry in central Auckland suburbia is currently being prepared for housing development. As a suburb within New Zealand’s fastest growing city, housing pressure and intensification policies mean that higher density design will be a key focus of remediation. Medium Density Design is a relatively young model of higher density housing in New Zealand and has developed a strong negative stigma, engendered by the abundance of unresponsive medium density developments which struggle, both physically and visually, to connect with Auckland’s low density suburban culture. Plans to only partially fill the site have been met with opposition by the community as the quarry landscape is seen as an obstacle for connection within the suburb and unfit for human inhabitation. Because of these negative feelings towards both the quarry and medium density design, locals are anxious any development within the quarry will follow a similar Medium Density housing model that turns its back on its context and community while failing to connect to the Three Kings context. This research argues that by designing with the slope and existing condition of the quarry, medium density design can produce a scheme that meets the desires of the community and builds a unique and relevant identity for Three Kings. This thesis proposes this can be achieved by acknowledging the significance of the industrial landscape and designing with landform features and environmental systems; through community focussed medium density design; and by taking advantage of opportunities of mass housing design on the slope. These issues are tackled on the urban scale through design of a master plan, as well as cluster and dwelling scale design proposals.</p>

At Home in the Quarry - A community engaging and landscape responsive approach to Medium Density Design within the Three Kings Quarry

<p>The recently exhausted Three Kings Quarry in central Auckland suburbia is currently being prepared for housing development. As a suburb within New Zealand’s fastest growing city, housing pressure and intensification policies mean that higher density design will be a key focus of remediation. Medium Density Design is a relatively young model of higher density housing in New Zealand and has developed a strong negative stigma, engendered by the abundance of unresponsive medium density developments which struggle, both physically and visually, to connect with Auckland’s low density suburban culture. Plans to only partially fill the site have been met with opposition by the community as the quarry landscape is seen as an obstacle for connection within the suburb and unfit for human inhabitation. Because of these negative feelings towards both the quarry and medium density design, locals are anxious any development within the quarry will follow a similar Medium Density housing model that turns its back on its context and community while failing to connect to the Three Kings context. This research argues that by designing with the slope and existing condition of the quarry, medium density design can produce a scheme that meets the desires of the community and builds a unique and relevant identity for Three Kings. This thesis proposes this can be achieved by acknowledging the significance of the industrial landscape and designing with landform features and environmental systems; through community focussed medium density design; and by taking advantage of opportunities of mass housing design on the slope. These issues are tackled on the urban scale through design of a master plan, as well as cluster and dwelling scale design proposals.</p>

THE INTER-TIER SPREAD OF HOUSING BUBBLES: ARE LUXURY MARKETS TO BLAME?

Understanding the spread of asset bubbles is pivotal to the effectiveness of risk management. This study thus estimates housing bubbles and investigates how and to what extent price bubbles spread between the tiers of luxury and mass housing in Hong Kong. The results show that price bubbles spread between housing tiers, the spreading of bubbles is not uni-directional from luxury to mass tiers, and more than 60% of bubbles come from inter-tier spreading. Moreover, bubble shocks from the luxury tier have stronger spreading influences on the movements of bubbles in the mass housing tier than the other way around during the period before the end of the global financial crisis (GFC), whereas the opposite is true for the period after GFC. The findings are important for policy makers attempting to tackle soaring housing bubbles, financial institutions seeking to managing lending risk, and housing investors wanting to time the submarkets.

Communication performance inherent in the repetitive attributes of projects: the case of mass housing projects

PurposeThe perception that the repetitive nature and attributes of mass housing projects (MHPs) induce significant influence on communication among projects teams have persistently been acknowledged without an empirical accentuation. This seemingly untested knowledge tends to limit the predictive accuracy of success and effectiveness of adopted communication style, strategies and models in mass housing particularly due to the incidence of the repetitive attributes. The purpose of this study is to delineate the influence of the repetitive attributes of mass housing projects on communication performance among the project team.Design/methodology/approachThrough the use of questionnaire survey and structural equation modelling analysis, a hypothesized model tested evaluated the effects of the repetitive attributes of mass housing on information flow and information composition communication performance.FindingsIn the case of influence on information flow, it was seen to be substantial whereas that of the information composition was moderate.Originality/valueThe findings offer empirical credence to the existing perception and indeed affirm that the repetitive features of MHPs significantly contribute to communication performance related to information flow and information composition among the project team. The implication of these findings is that, practitioners and stakeholders on mass housing are urged to explore bespoke communication methods, medium, strategies and management approaches that fit the MHP attributes and environment to engender managerial and communication efficiencies in the delivery.

The Evolution of Multifamily Housing: Post-Second World War Large Housing Estates versus Post-Socialist Multifamily Housing Types in Slovenia

The academic discourse on post-Second World War (post-WW2) multifamily housing complexes has mostly focused on their negative aspects, related, especially, to their high population densities, poor quality of construction and social problems, due to the dominance of low-income residents. In reaction to these and other negative characteristics, alternative multifamily housing types started to emerge, first in Western European countries in the 1970s, and later in Eastern European countries, following the adoption of the market economy system at the beginning of the 1990s. The transformation that has occurred in mass housing types has been particularly distinct in Eastern European countries. Motivated by the lack of focused analyses of the important characteristics of these transformations, this article adopts a rare approach to the mass housing debate by focusing on examining the merits of post-WW2 large housing estates as compared to those of the post-socialist era. With a focus on Slovenia as a case study, a comparative analysis is performed by conducting a detailed review of the literature and other relevant sources. The comparative analysis shows that post-socialist multifamily housing types have many advantages over the post-WW2 housing estates, a finding that leads us to deduce that the transformations in mass housing typologies that have occurred in Slovenia (and other Eastern European countries) may have serious implications on the future of large housing estates. It is thus suggested in the conclusion that suitable regeneration policies need to be urgently implemented in post-WW2 housing estates in order to create more attractive living environments and prevent the potential degradation of these neighborhoods, which would, in turn, result in spatial residential segregation with concentrations of low-income households in post-WW2 housing estates.